Humor Regulation at Hand?

There’s the possibility that making jokes may soon be subject to government regulation. According to an independent report, Political Correctness In Action is lobbying to have humor regulated — and not just because of political correctness.

“Jokes are no laughing matter. Everyone knows that humor can not only be deeply offensive but is, in fact, medicine and as such jokes and comedic words , gesture and actions need to be regulated,” said Neva Smiles, president of the group PCIA

The lobbying group is pushing for legislation that would require anyone telling a joke or “indulging in comedic or humorous actions, gestures or words” to have a state-issued medical license. Jokes could then only be told in the state in which you were licensed.

A spokesman for the health insurance industry said that the sector is already working on a diagnostic code for those who need to be humor recipients. Once the insurance company has cleared the person to receive “humor care,” a licensed humor practitioner could tell them up to three jokes or LII, Laughter-Inducing Interactions, within any 24 hour period. Because laughter also often occurs in the joke-teller, LHPs, Licensed Humor Practitioners, would be limited to treating three patients a day.

Similarly, a pharmaceutical rep who chose to remain anonymous, said companies are already working on formula that would produce the same effects as laughter without dangerous exposure to offensive jokes.

One substance is hydrotetrachlorodisulphide known by the name Laughenol. This rep said that although ‘Laughing Gas,’ in the form of Nitrous Oxide is widely available, there were concerns within the industry of its impact on the environment, and therefore new, synthesized forms of comedications (pronounced comedic-ations) were necessary. One pharma industry analyst and investor, Maeda Fortune, said this could be the greatest boost to pharma since they were able to get acceptance of the name Attention Deficit Disorder to replace the former diagnosis of Minimal Brain Dysfunction.

Not everyone is in favor of the new proposals, however. Memory researcher Professor Ivor Gotten says humor is important to memory and that he has concerns that a reduction in humor would be a big problem.

An expert in self-control, Dr. Ava Nother, said that many people are compulsive joke tellers and may have difficulty refraining from unlicensed humor.

The pharmaceutical industry claims that rumors of ties to the lobbying group are completely unfounded. “We have never had a formal meeting with them.” He did admit senior pharma execs had unexpectedly run into the lobbying group at a Washington restaurant and had so much in common they ended up chatting for four hours.

Given that 50% of physicians report symptoms of burnout, perhaps they are the ones that need exposure to humor, rather than be the conveyors of it?

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